Serbian "trivia" (2): did you know...?

...that every sixth girl-minor in Serbia was at a point a victim of sexual abuse and violence

…that out of cca. 8 million people in Serbia more than 1,2 million adults is without completed primary education

…..that more ethnic (5,800) Germans in Vojvodina (Volksdeutsche) were killed in the few weeks of fall of 1948 when Bosnian Partisans occupied Vojvodina than in infamous Nazi killings in Kraljevo and Kragujevac combined

The Virtue of Compromise

Post parliamentary election Serbian kitchen

While we are awaiting new Serbian government, that is, while we are waiting for SPS (Milosevic's Socialist Party) Ivica Dacic to return from Moscow (as stated in media yesterday) with the set of instructions about who SPS should invite in its bed (Seselj's)SRS/DSS(of Kostunica) or (Tadic's)DS/G17 (of Dinkic) Plus/LSV (of Nenad Canak ), I’d like to address the issue of so called “big picture” or “compromise”, as some people call it. That is, some these turbulent days in Serbia argue that DS cohabiting and/or compromising over the past years with DSS/SRS/SPS and potentially now with SPS was and is a matter of necessity and even reform virtue.

I strongly disagree.

Firstly, I am fine with compromise as long as individual freedoms and other libertarian values as well as the basic pillars of security and decent life are not placed at stake. Well, I agree, often in life compromise is wise thing to do, sometimes even necessary, settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions is a logical and conflict resolution tool everybody is using on daily basis. Moreover, compromise is sometimes something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things. I mean, when the blending is sought for. And this is precisely where my discontent kicks in.

There was enough damage, I would argue, done by so far DS policies of cohabitation and compromise. The clear result of these DS policies was erosion of potential for creating larger liberal and pro reform pole in Serbia. Drowned in personal anger and leadership vanity DS made an effort to localize the only healthy view on the Serbia reality preached by LDP and make it look estranged with its values without actually making a natural step of alignment. In addition, this change of DS stances, happened since Tadic took the party, for the sake of enlarging its support made those changed stances changed for good. So, the explanation how DS is merely verbally patriotizing Kosovo and how DS is only rhetorically being bigger nationalists then the SRS themselves is nothing but an empty talk of those die hard DS supporters.

The truth about what DS became I believe is simple, and all should face it, DS is not anymore the same party what it used to be. Its pro reform leadership potential irreplaceably vanished and the new nationalists dangerous rhetorics became genuine as such immensely dangerous (like when DS pacted with SRS about creation of the stupendous new 2006 Constitution). DS with these rhetorics changed itself so much and attracted so many nationalist and anti reform votes with so little internal democracy exercised that they started becoming ballast and not asset to further reform efforts of society in Serbia.

I know many former always-vote-DS voters who clearly said: We'll never vote for this kind of DS ever again, no matter what. Having SRS in power and losing the Belgrade's wheal of money may be exactly what DS need in order to go back to its pro reform path searching for partners where these are.

Die hard DS supporters should not despair. (Unless they are one of many DS supporters interrupted saucing at one of the budgetary ends.) These are natural processes. Happened all over the CEE/SEE. What happened to DSS after 2000 in terms of growth and change of characters now it happened to DS. Should one add to this a picture of corrupted and technocratized DS freed of a real ideology of transition or reform, than the DS deterioration as the reform agent comes afore stronger than ever. As said, many argue that this is the natural process of the growth of any party but the trick is exactly to balance the two, populism and progressiveness, while shielding from the unrealistic demands of the former and keeping the accent at the later.

By pushing the DS into having so authoritarian leadership (to the point of having the paternal say in the party and bringing the difference between the country and party presidency to the point of not recognition) of essentially populist party Tadic failed to do so and instead created Tadicevism that is good for nothing apart being nutshell for the DS cleptocratic elites.

The peak of a charade of creating a partnership between bestial SPS and Tadicevism was a somewhat desperate finding of a common ground about what SPS calls social justice. While SPS sounds ridiculous for declaratively supporting values they read about in their Soviet handbooks while still wearing the bloody shirts of 1990’s, DS looks equally ridiculous for trying to match SPS while not getting their heads from the bottoms of the Serbian tycoons. Crazy!

While the LDP, to the likings of DS and SRS alike are safely locked at the margin of Serbian political spectrum it is obviously that they are talking the politics far ahead from Serbian public ability to take in, and social capacity to upheld and practice. On the other hand evergreen G17 Plus is appearing again as the ideological savior of the pro refom block’s honesty by basically deciding that if SPS goes with SRS and make ruling coalition in Belgarde than G17 Plus will opt not to work with SPS on the national level. Fair enough and filling the void in lack of principles of Serbian reformers in most prudent way in the given moment, I'll give them that. It is funny however that this comes from a party that has as much ideology in its workings as Serbia true reformers.

Serbian "trivia" (1): did you know...?

...that during the 11 May 2008 Elections no Officers, NCOs, or soldiers, in the Armed Forces of Serbia were permitted to vote

...that each time there are elections in Serbia the new set of transparent ballot boxes are purchased at the price of 50 eur for each one, so each election/s the boxes cost taxpayers in Serbia circa 1.5M euro

...that antisemitism was official Serbian state policy until the Western powers made Serbia change it in 1878

The past and the future of Serbia

Tadic's buddies, trio fantastics: Krkobabic, Dacic and the Palma

Back to the past: Viva SPS

7 May 2008 Vranje

Dacic:

Predsednik Socijalističke partije Srbije (SRS) Ivica Dačić izjavio je u Vranju, na Završnoj konvenciji Koalicije SPS-Partija ujedinjeih penzionera Srbije-Jedinstvena Srbija, da dolazi vreme politike SPS-a i Slobodana Miloševića.

"Došlo je vreme da pokažemo da smo bili u pravu svih onih godina kada smo sa Slobodanom Miloševićem branili ovaj narod, branili i odbranili našu Srbiju", rekao je Dačih burno pozdravljen u prepunoj sporskoj hali u Vranju.


Blic
Belgrade
Tuesday May 13 2008

Koalicija „Za evropsku Srbiju“ ponudiće Socijalističkoj partiji Srbije i manjinama da zajedno formiraju novu vladu Srbije, saznaje „Blic“. Iako se u prvi mah po objavljivanju izbornih rezultata matematičkom računicom učinilo da SRS, DSS-NS i SPS mogu da formiraju novu vladu, jer imaju 127 mandata, ali politička kombinatorika, tu opciju čini manje verovatnom. Lider Jedinstvene Srbije Dragan Marković Palma, članice koalicije okupljene oko SPS, naklonjeniji je koaliciji sa DS i evropskom putu Srbije, što bi povlačenjem njegova tri mandata vladu SRS učinilo nemogućom.

11 May 2008 Parliamentary Elections in Serbia. And the winner is...well SPS Dacic will decide.

Looking at the plain results cited below it is obvious that the politically immortal 1990's chief hate monger Vuk Draskovic is back, that DS and G17 are the gainers and DSS the loser while the rest took their old gains.

However, I find something very funny. Boring Radicals, Kustinicas' blood sucking DSS, and Molosevic’s SPS won 127 seats, a majority, two seats over the simple 125 majority of 250 seats, and yet DS leadership is talking about some kind of pro EU victory and encouraging people to go out to and occupy streets in celebration. Yes, as my friend C. put it: "They missed a chance to capitalize on Kosovo departure so if now SRS do not form the government in four years time will be safely on our EU road away from Kosovo".

While this true the numbers are quite grim and show no change in Serbian electorate regarding the sharp cleavage over the issue of Western international integrations.

Jan 2007 May 2008 Change

% seats % seats % seats

Radicals 28,7 81 28.5 77 0 -4

Democrats 22,9 65 39/103 (coalition w/G17,SPO,LSV) cca +8 to10

G17 19 25 +6

SPO 0 ? ?

LSV 3? 3? 0

DSS/NS 47 30 -17

JS 2 +2

PUPS 2 +2

SPS 16 16 (+4) 0

LDP 15 13 -2

HUN 3 4/5 +1/2

ROM 1+1 ? ?
SDA 2 2 0

ALB 1 1 0

*final results may change these for +/-1 seat

So when DS say Serbia chose Europe that means "we made a deal to buy support from Milosevic's SPS". While not pretending to be a puritan here we are talking about the exactly same SPS as the one that ruled during the 1990's. I guess that this kind of political pragmatism and wisdom will find fully fertile ground in Serbia only once us who vividly remembers 1990's are still around.

On top of this Tadic is so open about him taking Serbia into EU with Kosovo only (!) that he not only scares me but also insults my libertarian feelings in terms of him saying that 2 milion Kosovo Albanians should give in to 120k remaining die hard Serbs or that they are idiots and will come back under the Tadic coat as soon as he forms the government. The little happiness around as found by that bunch remains to be DS target perpetuating as LDP would say "politics of territories and not of people for people". Any debate on this topic would be unaccaptable beyond silly and thus Tadic stand is plain crazy! Even be it for PR purposes as many are trying to explain it.

Back to SPS, I mean…one thing is if some Belgrade treasury money loaded DS yuppies already bought our SPS support with few public companies board seats here and few there, another one is that Serbia is yet to gain critical majority for reforms and EU integrations.

The two leaders, Nikolic and Tadic, essentially failed to move the old boundaries and thus achieved no success, both of them should account for these lack of gains to their parties, and yet none of the two will. Certainly Tadic who steadily grew into a small Putin by killing all there was of the internal DS democracy and melting the Presidency of the Republic into the DS leadership. Not sure which of the two makes me more disillusioned. Probably the combining unfortunate result that effectively will prevent DS from becoming a serious vehicle on any genuine reforms road, a hallucinating hope by a part of DS voters that have no direct personal interest out of the DS corrupt and irresponsible Belgrade or national governance.

If anything, this elections are spitting image of the one from Jan 08 with a 5 seats less for the Radicals and as many more for DS. The rest is the same. Only naïve and overly hopeful will let be confused by sudden coalitions and some achieved synergies. Also, to mention, it is shame that LDO couldn't pull more than 5 nationally and 7 % in Belgrade. This is also a call for Ceda to reconsider his so far autocratic leadership style and decide if he'll let LDP outgrow him some time in the future or does it have to stay his own private ring. It seems that only that when this takes place and when painfully hermeneutic in their views Ceda's colegues get the idea of the movement expansion, more present unhappy DS supporters will turn to them.

At the end of the day, the numbers are irreversible and painfully rigid. Will see who exactly will buy whom and who'll form the government, one idiotic rumor from very close DS had it previous days that little Jugopetrol boy turned Hardvardian wonder foreign minister Jeremic himself will become the Medvedev, pard me, Serbian PM. One thing is for sure though, albeit ticking the stupid eurocratic boxes Serbian is nowhere nearer EU or for that matter economic reforms or much needed political cleansing in the form of consensus about its European future.

11 May 2008 Extraordinary Parliamentary Elections

Instead of dwelling about the standard unfortunate Serbian parliamentary elections affairs I'll turn to preparation of some of my most favorite food:

Tabouli

We just love tabouli, a Persian/Lebanese/Near Eastern salad made of tomatoes, couscous (bulgur wheat), and loads of parsley.

First time I had this wonderfull salad at our dear Budapest friends' house Nadia and Rui. This week, however, I got adventurous and decided to find the necessary ingredients to make it myself for my Belgrade friends. This is the way I do it:

Allow 15 minutes

1 cup couscous
2 cups water
2 bunches parsley
3 red juicy tomatoes
4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
some chopped black olives

Bring the water to a boil, then remove from heat and pour in couscous. Allow to sit 5 - 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems, then place leaves in food processor and chop until very fine. Chop the tomatoes as finely as possible. Combine couscous, parsley, tomatoes and black olives, mixing well. Stir the lemon juice and olive oil together then pour over couscous and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before enjoying.

Enjoy it!